1. Technical Field
The present invention generally relates to vehicle movement indication devices. More particularly, the present invention relates to rear-end motor vehicle motion warning devices.
2. Background Art
Motor vehicle braking indication devices have existed for some time now. The traditional implementation is one or more red brake lights at the rear of a motor vehicle that are illuminated during the activation of the braking system. The traditional stop lights do indeed help prevent rear-end collisions, due to the time provided to the following driver for realizing the stoppage of the lead vehicle and acting on that realization.
However, even more rear-end collisions may be prevented if still more time were given to the following driver for acting on the warning, i.e., to stop his or her vehicle. There have been several attempts to provide improved warning of situations in which the brakes of the vehicle ahead are not necessarily activated, but the vehicle is nonetheless slowing or not accelerating.
As an example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,990,887 issued to Lee discloses a vehicle brake light system where the existing brake lights stay on for a predetermined time after release of the brake pedal. The Lee brake light extender addresses the problem of the driver of the second vehicle not realizing the first vehicle is in the process of accelerating and not currently traveling at cruising speed.
As another example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,812,807 issued to Davis et al. discloses a vehicle motion indicator where a light of a different color from the brake lights is illuminated whenever a condition exists where neither the accelerator nor the brake are being depressed. The Davis light addresses the problem of indicating to the second driver that the first driver is coasting.
As still a further example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,823,109 issued to Boyer discloses a warning light system for vehicles having an engine brake where a light of a different color from the brake lights is activated after a time delay by a release of the accelerator, which engages the engine brake. The Boyer warning light addresses the problem of trucks slowing or stopping via use of the engine brake without warning the following driver, while still allowing for the routine shifting of gears with the time delay.
Although each of the references above address important problems, they do not directly address the problem of the following vehicle driver not having enough time to act on the warning provided by the lead vehicle. In addition, the art contains vehicle motion indication devices that seek to provide too much information to the following driver and result in what is known as the "christmas tree effect", i.e., too many lights on the lead vehicle causing confusion of the driver of the following vehicle.
Thus, a need exists for a vehicle motion indication device that increases the time available for response by the driver of the following vehicle, while avoiding the "christmas tree effect".